A good toner helps remove the remaining bits of oil, dirt and impurities left behind by cleansers. Toners nowadays are multi-functional. Some toners help soothe, nourish and hydrate the skin while restoring its delicate pH balance which is 5.5. The kind of toner you use should depend on the needs of your skin.Today, I will be comparing 2 toners that are considered Korean cult products. Both are pretty popular but do they both live up to the hype? If you're thinking of getting any of these toners, keep on reading and maybe I can help you decide which one will give you your money's worth.

The product comes in a clear, glass bottle. It's nice that the bottle is clear so you can clearly see the amount of product inside. However, I'm a bit ambivalent about the glass packaging of the product. I love that it seems fancy because it comes in a nice, Sake-looking glass bottle, but at the same time it makes me afraid of breaking it. I'm not sure if the glass bottle is made of tempered glass or just regular glass so be careful in handling this thing or you might break it and waste the product inside. Another thing I don't like with the packaging is the cap. On the outside, it looks like a typical cork used to cover sake but it comes with a twist-off cap. Maybe Skin Food is trying to stay true to their sake-like packaging of the product. But it just makes it a bit inconvenient for users having to twist it off and on in every use.

The label in front says it contains 135ml and that it contains many nutritive ingredients such as fresh plants, fruits, etc. to keep the skin healthy. Skin Food brand is pretty notable for using organic ingredients which is a plus for those of you who prefer using organic products.

Its description at the back says that it is a refreshing toner that eliminates shine from enlarged pores and excessive sebum production with finest sake and peach extracts. The directions in using the product is also written in English but the rest is in Korean. The manufacturing and expiration date are also stamped at the back which is nice. If you look closely at the bottom, there is a note that says, "open here". Once you peel off the paper the English translation for the ingredients are there. I didn't completely tear off mine because I like mine as is.

Now let's talk about the toner itself. The toner is a clear liquid with a distinct smell. For those of you who are turned off with products that has fragrance then this stuff is not for you. The fragrance has a strong alcohol scent mixed with a mild hint of peach. Here are the product claims of this toner.

After describing the packaging and the product, let's show a mini-demo of how this toner works.

I used a lavender makeup base and applied it on the back of my hand so you can easily see the effects of the toner. I then wiped a portion of it using a cotton pad with the toner. The toner feels a bit cold on skin so maybe, that's why it is described as a refreshing toner. The fragrance of the toner doesn't stay long on my skin as well which is good since I am not a big fan of its scent. When it comes to its claims, I think it did minimize my pores just a tad bit but not significantly enough. It did make my skin smoother than before I applied it. Toners are usually applied after initial cleansing of the skin to further remove the remaining dirt and makeup that cleansers failed to remove. So in the photo above, I wanted to show you its cleansing ability as well.

I've been using this toner 2x a day for about a week now and I think it does help in controlling my sebum (I have combo skin, btw). My skin looks matte for hours, however, I don't do much physical activities and I pretty much stay in an air-conditioned room for the most part of my day. But if you're out doing physical activities under the burning heat of the summer sun, this toner alone will probably be not enough to keep your oilies at bay for the entire day.

Now let's compare it to the more popular Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner.

The 250ml product comes in a see-through blue, plastic container with an easy flip-top cap. Since it is made of plastic, you don't have to worry about dropping and breaking the container and wasting the product. However, the packaging does not look as fancy as the Skin Food Toner. Since I threw away the box that comes with it, I have no idea if it is made of organic ingredients because the bottle does not indicate any of its ingredients.

The Wonder Pore boasts 10 benefits as stated on its cover:

Balance skin's ideal pH level

Refine skin tones

Keep the elasticity of pores

Remove skin surface's dead skin cells

Cleanse pore insides with cooling effect

Deep cleanse pores

Minimize appearance of pores

Minimize appearance of pores

Control a large amount of sebum

Moisturize inside and outside of skin

Complete smooth glass-like texture

Wew! That's a lot! But the question would be, does it live up to its claims? Let's test it out.

I used the same lavender makeup base so you can see the difference on my skin before and after I used the toner. Like the Skin Food Toner, it did slightly reduce the appearance of my pores but if you have large pores around your cheeks and nose, don't expect visible results. It did have a slight cooling sensation and made my skin slightly smoother. Comparing it to the effects of Skin Food Toner, I think Skin Food had more cooling and smoothing effects. Also, it does not have fragrance unlike the Skin Food Toner which is good.

I have used this toner 2x a day for almost a year and I still have a tiny amount of the product left. So I guess, even though it was slightly more expensive than my Skin Food Toner, you get more product for the small difference in price (it has more than a 100ml difference than Skin Food's). When it comes to the 10 benefits that it claims. I honestly don't see why this product has become very popular because I feel like it does not have much effect on my skin.

So let's summarize the hits and misses of both products, shall we?

Skin Food Toner

Hits:

Fancy sake-like packaging

Lots of organic ingredients

Makes skin smoother after application

Pores are slightly reduced but will probably have no visible results for large pores.

Good oil control properties

Misses:

Inconvenient to open and might be easily broken

Strong fragrance

Packaging: 4/5 (-1 for the twist cap)

Ingredients: 5/5

Product claims: 4/5

Price: 4/5 (750php for 135ml)Overall rating: 4.25/5

Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner

Hits:

Convenient to open

See-through bottle so you can see amount inside

Good amount of product

No strong fragrance

Misses:

Cheap packaging

Does not live up to the hype or its claims

Packaging: 4/5

Ingredients: 3/5

Product claims: 2/5

Price: 5/5 (around 1000php for 250ml)Overall rating: 3.5/5

So for this battle of Korean cult products, I declare Skin Food Toner as the winner! Thank you for reading this blog post! If you have any suggestion on products you want me to review feel free to comment below. If you like what you read, don't forget to like or share this post. Follow me and I'll follow you back. Have a great day, everyone!

Note: This is not a sponsored review. The products I reviewed here were purchased using my own money. However, if you are interested in trying some of Skin Food's products (I highly suggest you do), click on Skin Food Products and type in the code upon checkout for a discount.